It was a Super Saturday in Malaysia where eight teams were in action in the group stage matches of the ACC Women’s T20 Championship. While the UAE and Malaysia went on to win their respective matches by 10 wickets, Nepal bagged their second win in as many games and Hong Kong opened up their tournament with a win over Bhutan.

Singapore vs UAE

Winning the toss and electing to field first, UAE bowled Singapore out for 29 in 17.2 overs. UAE Skipper Chaya Mughal completed her full quota of 4 overs within the 7th over, taking 3 wickets in the process. She bowled both the openers with her signature sharp insiwngers and gave away just 9 runs in her spell. Tall off-spinner Esha Oza once again took charge dismantling Singapore’s batting line up with three wickets in a spell where she only conceded 6 runs.

In her 24 legal deliveries, she bowled 19 dots, dperiving Singapore of the momentum they needed to register a more competitive total. None of the batters on the Singapore side made a double-figure mark with skipper Shafina Mahesh’s nine runs being the highest. Singapore was bowled out for 29 runs with Suraksha Kotte and Vaishnave Mahesh chipping in with 2 wickets a piece.

Chasing the target UAE’s Esha Ozha scored 29 not-out off 14 balls including five fours and a massive six over deep mid wicket. The powerful UAE opener took a liking to Shafina Mahesh’s medium pace bowling, scoring three boundaries and the aforementioned six off the Singapore skipper to seal the chase in the third over of the innings. Oza’s opening partner Theertha Satish remained not out for 3 runs.

Reflecting on the UAE’s plans for the tournament, Player-of-the-match Esha Oza said, ‘Well, we are keeping it simple. One game at a time. Our plan is to win the tournament unbeaten and we will be working hard to achieve it.’

Hong Kong vs Bhutan

Hong Kong started their tournament with a win, playing their first match against Bhutan. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the East Asians.

After winning the toss and choosing to field, Anjur Gurung and fellow seamer Sonam restricted Hong Kong to 35 for 2 in the powerplay. Anju started off the innings taking Shanzeen Shahzad’s wicket off the 5th ball of the first innings. Later, Sonam bowled Bella Poon in the sixth over. Hong Kong’s recovery was led by Mariko Hill and Yasmin Daswani’s 32-run stand for the 4th wicket which took the score to 77-4. Mariko scored 40 runs in the innings, guiding the team’s total to a respectable 102.

Chasing 103, Bhutan at one stage looked like pulling off an upset. The first wicket fell for them in the form of left-hander Ngawang Choden in the fourth over when there were 18 runs on the board. The southpaw’s opening partner Yeshey Choden stayed strong in spite of losing her skipper Dechen Wangmo, pushing Bhutan’s score to 49 at the end of ten overs.

Mariko Hill then struck gold bowling Yeshey for 21 in the 11th over before Tshering Zhangmo and Sonam Choden pushed the score to 69 at the end of 14 overs. With 34 required off 36, Bhutan had once again established themselves as strong contendors for victory until Maryam Bibi and skipper Kary Chan combined to choke Bhutan who could only manage 5 runs in the next 18 balls.

Unable to score a boundary for the rest of the innings, Bhutan’s chase eventually ran out of steam as Hong Kong restricted them to 88 for 7 to win by 14 runs.

Malaysia vs Qatar

Skipper Winifred Duraisingam led Malaysia to yet another convincing victory against Qatar. Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Qatar managed to score 69 runs being bowled out in 19.4 overs. Qatar skipper Aysha scored 33 not out to keep Qatar in the contest during the first innings. Saachi Dhadwal (10) was the other batter to register doubles figures as Duraisingam and Nur Dania took 2 wickets each.

Chasing a target of 70, Malaysia did not lose any wickets with openers Wini and Wan Julia staying at the crease until the end. Wini scored 29 off 37 balls while Julia scored 31 off 38 balls, both scoring 2 boundaries each in their innings.

Later in the post-match, Player of the Match Duraisingam said, ‘There was some great performance from the bowling side and the teamwork was on point! I am really happy with all the girls.’

On winning the Player of the Match Award she added, ‘It means a lot winning the POTM and to be able to lead the team from the front. To win by 10 wickets is our confidence booster for the next match.’

Nepal vs Kuwait

Winning the toss and electing to field first, Kuwait gave Nepal an early scare. The top-order batters once again failed to capitalize on the powerplay as opener Bindu Rawal (11) was caught by Mariamma Hyder off the bowling of Maryam Omar in the fifth over with the score on 19. Hyder would follow this up with exceptional bowling dismissing both Sita Rana Magar and Jyoti Pandey in the same over.

However, the tide would turn when Nepal captain Rubina Chhetri walked out at number six. Along with vice-captain Indu Barma, they put on 60 for the 5th wicket. 28 not out for Barma and 31 unbeaten runs from Chhetri propelled Nepal to 107 for four.

Chasing a target of 108, Kuwait lost Maryam Omar in the second over off the bowling of Ashmina Karmacharya. Within the powerplay, Nepal skipper Rubina Chhetri produced a stunning runout to dismiss Zeefa Jelani for 6. A 35-run partnership between Priyada Murali and Amna Sharif for the third wicket was broken by off-spinner Sangita Rai in the 14th over. Priyada who was dismissed scored 31 runs, the highest for Kuwait’s batters in the match. Later, two quick wickets and economical overs from Indu Barma and Sita Rana Magar, respectively, helped Nepal defend their total by 25 runs. Sita Rana Magar took 2 wickets while Ashmina, Barma, and Sangita took one wicket each.

Nepal skipper Rubina Chhetri who was adjudged player of the match said.” I felt really happy being able to contribute to my team and it helped the team to put on a good score. As a leader, I always try to set an example and believe in myself.’